Despite a few setbacks — not to mention the ongoing pandemic — work in Uptown is nearing completion with several other projects on the horizon.
City Engineering Supervisor Stephen Craver gave an update on the various pieces that make up the overall Sedona in Motion puzzle during a Sedona City Council meeting on Zoom Wednesday, June 24.
“We’re at about 95% complete with an end date of July 15,” Craver said. “You’ll recall in March and February we were working hard to get that most destructive work done before spring break, which we were able to do. Ultimately, it didn’t make a huge difference because the COVID pandemic occurred shortly thereafter.”
A synopsis of some of the projects Craver touched upon included:
SIM-1, Uptown Roadway Improvements
The median panels and landscaping are complete, and the contractor is currently placing rock in the gabion pillars. Installation of panels and landscaping within the roundabouts is nearing completion. A sealcoat was applied the week of June 15 to provide for a clean and uniform finished product. The completion of the Schnebly Road extension is pending a waterline relocation which should be underway soon.
SIM-4A, Y Slip Lanes
ADOT is designing this project with in-house staff. The design is at 30% complete. The design team has been focused on vetting concepts in an attempt to minimize parking and access impacts to adjacent properties. This concept includes a slip lane for northbound State Route 89A to southbound 179 through the property owned by ADOT. It also includes modifying the turning movements for northbound 179 on the approach to the roundabout. This scenario has been modeled by ADOT and the city’s consultant and shows an improvement in level of service.
Current project schedule anticipates construction starting in June 2021.
SIM-4C Pedestrian Crossing at Tlaquepaque
The design contract for this project was approved by council in September 2019. Design is currently at 70% complete. A permit application has been submitted to ADOT, and they are awaiting a review and feedback before moving to the next stage of design. The design is expected to be complete by September with construction starting in January 2021.
SIM- 5 Ma j o r Ro adwa y Connections
For the Portal/Ranger/Brewer Road Connection project, design was expected to be complete by the end of June. The intent of these improvements is to require vehicles that enter the parking lot to exit out to Ranger Road and also provide signage for vehicles coming from the south side of Soldier Wash to use that exit if their destination is West Sedona or Uptown.
For the Forest Road Connection, design is approximately 60% complete. Individual meetings with adjacent property owners have been held and those conversations have led to the finalization of the overall alignment with the 60% design.
SIM-7/8 Enhanced Transit Service
The city applied for a Federal 5311 Rural Transit grant to fund 80% of the cost of hiring a transit manager position and to obtain supplementary consultant services as needed. This position is needed to advance the various coordination and implementation tasks necessary to develop a transit system in Sedona. The city was expected to know the results of the award process by end of June 2020 and will need to make a decision about accepting an award and hiring this position.
Citizen surveys, including the most recent budget survey, have consistently shown a majority, 60%, of the community supporting transit, including supporting an extension of the existing transportation sales tax beyond the 10-year timeframe in order to pay for transit. It is unclear at this time whether or not there will be any allowances made to extend the grant acceptance/award in light of the current pandemic.
